The present invention concerns a portable object, in particular a timepiece, including a case with which is associated an electronic module intended to allow contactless and wireless communication between the portable object and an external terminal provided for this purpose.
The present invention is intended for a multitude of situations or places where for example it is checked whether or not a person has a right of access, the latter being either upon payment or free of charge.
The invention is particularly intended for systems for controlling access to industrial sites (research and development laboratories, production units, etc.) and to public buildings (stadiums, museums, cinemas or suchlike) in which the portable object is presented by the holder thereof to a control device which only authorises access to the site or to the building if the data stored in the object worn by the person corresponds to an access authorisation, the payment of a sufficient sum or even a suitable expiry date.
Access control systems, which use cards provided with a magnetic card able to be inserted into the slot of an access control terminal inside which the data carried by the magnetic strip are read, are known. When this data is recognised, access authorisation is issued and new data can be written on the magnetic strip.
Magnetic strip access control systems are, however, sometimes difficult to use, in particular because of the narrowness of the slot into which the card has to be inserted for accurate reading of its content. Thus, when a magnetic card access control system is used on certain equipment such as, for example, skilifts in winter sports resorts, handling of the magnetic card by users whose hands are not free proves particularly slow and awkward. Moreover, the repeated insertion of the card into the slot of the terminal causes wear of the magnetic strip on which the useful data is stored.
In order to overcome this drawback, there has been proposed an automatic control and identification system for objects in which a portable object encloses, in a case, an electronic module including in particular a memory for storing useful data such as an identification code, a transceiver device for radio transmitted signals, and an antenna electrically connected to the transceiver device. In this object control system, when coupled to an external terminal provided for this purpose, the transceiver device, is capable of transmitting radio signals corresponding to the reading of the data stored in the memory circuit and, if necessary, receiving radio signals for writing new useful data into such memory circuit. Thus, when the external circuit transmits an interrogation signal, the detection of this signal by the portable object causes the transmission, for example of an identification code for this object, which then allows the terminal to identify this object and consequently to check the identity of the wearer thereof.
The above automatic object identification system has numerous advantages.
Access control, whether upon payment or free of charge, is made easier and quicker. The necessary identification or other data are written into and read from a memory in a contactless and wireless manner. Thus, for example, the mechanical insertion of a card into the slot of a reading device, often made difficult by circumstances, is omitted. Moreover, this system is entirely passive, i.e. it does not require any power source of its own. The power necessary for the operation thereof is provided by the electromagnetic waves transmitted by the object identification terminal.
At the present time, however, the different manufacturers in the market propose contactless object control systems which differ from each other, in particular as regards the structure of the electronic modules used in the objects to be checked, which makes these systems totally incompatible with each other. The user thus finds himself obliged to purchase, for each required service, for example for the skilifts of several ski resorts, as well as opening the door of a hotel room and for payments at the bar thereof, the object which corresponds thereto. It will easily be understood that such a situation is not very convenient for the user. It multiplies the number of portable objects, increases the risk of theft, loss or forgetting such objects, and involves a considerable increase in cost.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the problems and drawbacks described hereinbefore by proposing a portable object, in particular a wristwatch, which allows a plurality of different services to be selected personally and simultaneously.
The invention therefore concerns a portable object for contactless access control systems, including a case with which at least one antenna is associated, characterised in that the case includes at least two different electronic modules, each electronic module allowing access to a particular service, the portable object also including means for selecting and activating one of said electronic modules as a function of the service desired by the user.
As a result of the features of the present invention, the user can have access, simultaneously and with great ease, to a plurality of different services, for example access to the skilifts of several winter sports resorts, opening the door of a hotel room, payment of a cinema ticket and others, using a single portable object. The risks of loss, theft or forgetting the object are minimised, and the costs reduced.
According to an advantageous feature of the invention, the selection and activation means control the movement of an electric contact member to connect the electronic module which corresponds to the service required by the user.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly upon reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention, given purely by way of non-limiting illustration, this description being made in conjunction with the annexed drawings.